10.18.2011

No. 14- 9

Why it’s so good...I have never NOT been in the mood for this album. It is everything you love about Damien Rice at its best.

I can't put my finger on this one exactly though. Is it the gorgeous string arrangements that are somehow romantic and haunting at the same time? Is it the intimacy of Damien's Irish voice? Or is it the way the album seems to sound like its not just in your ears but consuming your whole body?

All of these are huge factors.But if I were to choose just one aspect that makes this an exceptional album, it'd be the lyrics.Damien Rice really kicked it up a notch on this album. Sometimes it's so intimate and honest, it's a little uncomfortable at first. But if you don't just hear the words but listen to the voice delivering them, if you let yourself feel the emotion carefully wrapped around each note within that melody- you get it. You know it.By the time you get to the end of the album (the serene ballad "Sleep, Don't Weep"), your heart is pounding out of your chest and you are overcome. Overcome in the same way you are when you feel understood, truly and completely understood. Like you're connected to someone else.

I love this album dearly. I said it already, but every time I write music I think I'm just trying to capture Damien Rice- specifically this album. It's beautifuly, raw, haunting, and so real.